The ACLU is requesting that officials remove an Eastern Orthodox portrait of Jesus, photographed Wednesday, June 20, 2007, that is displayed in the lobby of the Slidell City Court.

Jesus isn't coming off the wall at Slidell City Court until further investigation, a court spokeswoman said Saturday.

The portrait, high on a wall in the lobby of the court on Bouscaren Street, has drawn the ire of the American Civil Liberties Union, which called on court officials Wednesday to remove the portrait within a week or face the possibility of a lawsuit.

But spokeswoman Ann Barks said court officials want to gather all the evidence before determining whether the picture violates the First Amendment. She said the court might not meet the ACLU's deadline.

"It's more than just a picture of Jesus," Barks said. "It might have more to do with the business of the court than purely religious reasons."

A local priest Friday identified the image as a 16th century Russian Orthodox icon called "Christ the Savior," most likely a reprint and not an original. In the picture, Jesus is shown holding open a book to display two pages, each with a biblical quotation about judging correctly and wisely. The quotations are written in Russian.

A Web search shows that the image also is known as "Christ the Ruler" or "Christ Almighty" and derives from one of the oldest known portraits of Christ. In the Russian Orthodox version, Jesus holds an open book. In other versions, he holds a closed book marked with a cross.

Since the ACLU letter, the court's staff has been trying to track down who hung the picture in the court and why, Barks said. Having had the quotations on the book translated into English, court officials aren't ready to concede that the display violates the constitutional clause forbidding the establishment of religion.

Besides the picture, the display includes the words: "To Know Peace, Obey These Laws." The ACLU wants both the picture and words removed.

According to the court's research, one quotation is from John 7:24. In the King James version of the Bible, it reads: "Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment."

The second quotation is from Matthew 7:2: "For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again."

A local Orthodox priest said the quotations are appropriate for a place of justice.

"The writing on those books (Jesus) is holding is about judging rightly," said the Rev. John Vieages of the Holy Orthodox Catholic and Apostolic Church of America, who holds services at his bookstore on First Street in Olde Towne Slidell. "It really does fit into a courtroom. Whoever put that there was well aware of what the writing meant."

Whether the quotations are relevant to the business of a court has nothing to do with whether the display is legal, said Katie Schwartzmann, staff attorney of the Louisiana chapter of the ACLU. "It's a clear constitutional violation," she said Saturday, echoing her original letter to the court.

The ACLU's one-page letter to City Court Clerk Susan Ordoyne said the display "clearly gives the impression that only believers in the law of Jesus Christ will receive justice in that courthouse."

Barks said that to her knowledge, no one had ever complained to the court about the picture until the ACLU letter.

Judge Jim Lamz has said he wants to consult with an expert on constitutional law before determining whether the display is legal. The display has been at the court since the building opened in 1997, well before Lamz took the bench.

Schwartzmann said she thinks former Judge James Strain Jr. put up the portrait. But Barks said nobody working at the court now was on the job 10 years ago, and officials haven't been able to reach Strain.

Barks called the ACLU's letter "inflammatory" and complained that it was released to the news media at the same time the court received it.

Schwartzmann denied that her organization was trying to intimidate Slidell officials. "If we wanted to be bullies, we would have filed a lawsuit," she said. "We sent a letter."

Hundreds of people from across the country have called the court since the ACLU's letter Wednesday. All have been "nice and respectful," Barks said.

Gwen Filosa can be reached at gfilosa@timespicayune.com or (504) 826-3304.